Rhoda gently pulled her rental car to the shoulder and parked.
"Why are we stopping here? I wanted to go to the toy store!"
"We will," Rhoda promised."But I thought you might like to see this place." She pointed to an old Victorian house. "It's where your mom and I lived when we first met."
"You lived there?" Melanie asked in astonishment.
Rhoda nodded. "Let's get out so we can get a closer look." Melanie quickly obeyed, looking at the house in wonder. "My apartment was way up there," Rhoda explained."Your mom lived right below me. Actually, I sort of wanted your mom's apartment. I tried to throw her out." She laughed at the memory.
"Why?"
"Because it was a lot nicer than mine. But your mother wouldn't back down. We both realized we had some things in common, so it was better to be friends than enemies. Just looking at this place brings back so many memories." Rhoda closed her eyes, mentally reviewing a movie of the years she and Mary had spent as neighbors and best friends. Slowly, she returned to the present. Melanie looked up at her expectantly, clearly wondering what was happening. "I went to a lot of parties at your mom's place," Rhoda finally said.
"My mommy threw parties?!" From the excitement in her voice, it was clear Melanie was picturing her own birthday parties, with balloons and party favors. Or perhaps a ball, like Cinderella's. Neither was even close to the reality of Mary's parties.
"Yes, but these weren't like the parties you're thinking of. Every one was a disaster. Let's see, there was the time when she ran out of food, because Lou took such a big serving. And the birthday party where the guest of honor refused to let any of us in. Oh, and of course the time when I had to explain to Phyllis that I wasn't marrying her brother." She paused, shuddering a bit as she recalled that incident. "I'll tell you about that one when you're older."
"Why doesn't Mommy live there anymore?" Melanie asked.
"Well, after a while, I decided to move back to New York, and Mary started to feel like she needed a change, so she moved into a different apartment, in another part of the city. I was only there one time. It was a nice place, but nothing could ever replace the memories we had here. Your mom doesn't talk about it much, but I can tell that sometimes, she misses it."
"But she has Daddy and me now," Melanie said, as if that should solve everything.
"I know, sweetheart, and she loves you both like crazy, believe me. But we both went through a lot here. Some good, some bad. When you get older, you'll understand that there are just some things you can never let go of."
"What did you and Mommy do?"
"Your mom went out on dates. She had this idea that she'd fall in love one day, and get married. I, on the other hand, felt like one of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters. Thank God for your mother, because she made me see that I actually could be a beauty queen."
"I think you're pretty," Melanie said.
The little girl's words went straight to Rhoda's heart. Rhoda hugged Melanie tightly. Mary had always been the optimistic one, no matter how many bad parties she had, or what her dating life looked like. But, right now, Rhoda knew she was holding onto the living proof that her best friend was right all along to believe in happy endings.